


Just Pretend

by Miicah



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 09:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5000386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miicah/pseuds/Miicah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’s heard of the stories where co-stars would fall in love with each other for real while they were filming away together. And as hard as it was for people in the spotlight to find love, she was <i>not</i> going to fall for her co-star.</p>
<p>Naturally, nothing went according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Taylor Swift's _Wildest Dreams_. Based on a prompt on tumblr that wasn't actually mine but it was open and the idea wouldn't leave me alone.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

She’s heard of the stories where co-stars would fall in love with each other for real while they were filming away together. It wasn’t that hard to imagine—bleeding fantasy into reality, all the time spent together on and off set, especially if filming on location away from anyone you personally know. Plus, it was Hollywood, it wasn’t as if it’d be the first or last time it happened.

But Iris didn’t want to be another tabloid front page headline. Despite the profession she chose, she wanted to be that exception to the rule, the one who found true love and was able to stay together with someone for longer than a couple months. And as hard as it was for people in the spotlight to find love, she was _not_ going to fall for her co-star (because as beautiful—and convenient—as that sounded, it came with its share of complications).

So, naturally, nothing went according to plan.

His name was Barry Allen. She’s heard of him, of course (who hasn’t?), but it was the first time she had the chance to work with him. He was all legs (almost annoyingly tall, as she liked to tease him), and though he had a baby face (which the crew _never_ failed to remind him) it only added to his attractiveness, especially when the jokes stopped and he’s serious and his intense gaze is on her (it sent shivers down her spine **every** time). And boy, were the jokes abundant when Barry was around. It was really just them being silly with each other but the actress supposed that was what was so great about it.

That was probably the first sign that she was heading down the road to ruin—a man that could make her laugh was high on her unofficial list of qualities she loved and looked for. But that was also strike two, the way Barry had simultaneously check-marked every box and destroyed the list all together. Like, Barry was actually a giant geek when you got to know him and Iris never thought she’d be into that, but maybe it’s just because it was him, as she could listen to him go full-nerd about something and not care if she didn’t understand half the stuff that was coming out of his mouth because he was just so passionate about it and she loved watching him like that.

The last straw was so subtle Iris didn’t know what hit her until it was too late. It was so easy, so natural, to be herself, _themselves_ , around each other. They instantly clicked ever since their chemistry reading during auditions for the lead roles—it was like they had been best friends for their entire lives, and that connection only grew stronger as they learned more about each other (what a small world to know that they were both from Central City, like, what were the chances?). Iris wasn’t sure what to define their relationship as, if or when they crossed the blurred line between friends and more than friends—after all, no matter _what_ they were, they only had three months tops at most together, and then their careers would take them in different directions again. All she knew was that it felt right, from the late night deep conversations to the constant touches they gave each other, and she was going to hold onto that for as long as she could.

* * *

“Let’s go out of town for a couple days.”

Those were the first words out of Barry’s mouth when Iris had opened the door of her hotel room at his knock. Iris let out a laugh, rolling her eyes as she left the door open for him and walked back into her room. _Right_ , like that was going to happen. As much as she wished it could, there was just no way to get away for 48 hours straight in the middle of a tight schedule. “Hello to you, too, Bear.”

“Hey!” The actor said indignantly as he followed her in, closing the door behind him. “I’m serious! And you have no idea how long it took me to work up the nerve to ask you that.”

She smiled softly at him, because that was probably the truth. Huge superstar and somehow _she_ made him all nervous. “You are the most adorable nerd that I know—”

“—I’m the _only_ nerd you know,” Barry muttered under his breath as he sat down on her bed.

That was also true, but she wasn’t going to correct him. Instead, the actress continued as if he hadn’t just interrupted her. “—But in case you’ve forgotten, we’re in the middle of filming a blockbuster movie. Maybe you’ve heard of it, seeing as we flew halfway across the world to make it.”

“How could I forget?” he said softly to himself; so softly Iris wasn’t even sure she had heard it at all. “Maybe you should get a new job stating the obvious, West.” The teasing remark was said loud and clear, and the brunet male stood up and approached her, taking both of her hands into each of his. “But I meant what I said. I already got the green light for it. All I need is you.”

Iris froze, knowing that could’ve meant a million different things and inwardly cursing herself for thinking of it only one way. Her mouth opened but nothing came out, and after a couple seconds Barry sputtered, figuring out the way he worded it perhaps wasn’t the best. “I mean, y’know, to say yes. All I need is you to say yes.”

“Duh,” she recovered quickly, squeezing the fingers that held hers as she laughed again, wishing her heart would slow down. “Should I even ask how you managed to do that?”

The tall male shrugged, moving his gaze to their intertwined hands. “Well, no point being a big hot shot actor if I can’t use that clout sometimes, right?” Fern green eyes sparkled as they looked up at her as he smirked, and Barry knew if he wasn’t holding onto her hands she would’ve punched him for being so proud. “So what do you say?”

She mimicked his shrug this time, trying to look nonchalant as she looked up at him. “Well, it’d be a shame to let all your ‘hard work’ go to waste, right?” And she knew if **his** hands were free he’d push her back for that comment. “Of course yes! Where are we going? What’re we doing?”

A weight seemed to lift off of Barry’s shoulders at her answer, and he smiled brightly, tugging her forward towards her closet. “It’s a surprise. And the faster you pack the faster you’ll find out. C’mon, chop chop!”

Iris shook her head in amusement but did as was told. Once she was done and they headed downstairs, the actress found the surprises just continued to keep on coming as her co-star led her to a waiting car. “Knew I would say yes?” she asked as she placed her bag beside his packed one already in the trunk.

“Hoped,” Barry amended her, looking bashful despite himself, and before Iris could realize what she was doing she went up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. She was sure if the grin that spread across his face got any bigger it’d split his face in two, but she was also certain she had the same smile on her face, so she wasn’t one to talk.

Even in another country on another continent, they still had crowds of fans that came to see them when they filmed in the city. So to be able to leave all that for somewhere they might not be recognized at all was exciting. Their first stop was seemingly at the side of a road, where Barry had pulled out a picnic basket from the backseat and led her down a hidden trail that eventually opened up to a open meadow.

“How did you even find this place?” Iris asked as she stared at the landscape in wonder; if they stayed long enough they would have a perfect view of the setting sun.

“Asked one of the locals,” the actor started to explain as he spread out the blanket for them to sit on. “My original plan was a national park but somehow I didn’t think we’d get much privacy there.”

She laughed at his comment, knowing he wasn’t wrong, and sat down across from him, helping him unpack their lunch. “You really thought this out, huh?”

“I usually like to try and go out when I’m filming on location—might as well, since we’ve traveled all the way here and all—but to have someone… _you_ here makes everything better.”

Lunch was perfect, even when Iris offered to feed him grapes and ended up throwing them into his open mouth instead—well, some of them, anyway. The dark-haired woman squealed and got to her feet when yet another one missed and hit him in the face, and Barry had chased her around, eventually grabbing her around her waist and twirling them around a bit before setting her back on her feet. There was a moment when Iris had turned around to face him and they shared a look, and just as Barry leaned down towards her a sudden day shower decided to rain down upon them.

They both giggled at the timing, but they took it as a sign instead of a deterrent, and Iris literally jumped on her co-star, wrapped her legs around his waist and curled an arm around his neck to run a hand through his dampening hair as the other hand cupped his cheek as she lowered her head towards his. Barry, as if prepared, caught her easily, holding her close as he contently closed his eyes at her ministrations, meeting her halfway to share their first of many off-screen kisses.

And as they somehow find their way back to the blanket, and Barry bites and pulls on her upper lip (one of her weakness that he may or may not have ‘accidentally’ discovered while they were filming on set), and Iris moaned and grinded against him from her straddling position on top of him, causing him to echo her sound of pleasure, they suppose they’re glad for the cold water pouring down on them, even if it did nothing to cool the heat between them.

To her delight, they did end up sticking around long enough to watch the sun set there.

* * *

Iris was the first to wake up; she often is, as she soon discovered in the weeks that followed that a stampede could roar through the room and Barry would still be fast asleep as if nothing had happened. She supposed she couldn’t really blame him, since shooting ended at seven that very morning and it was three in the afternoon now and they were _beyond_ lucky to get eight hours of sleep when they usually only averaged five. She kind of (a lot) treasured these moments, though, where she could bask in the silence broken only by the soft snores escaping from Barry’s lips, with their legs tangled together and one of his arms wrapped securely around her torso, just below her chest, and his breath tickling down her back and pretend it was forever.

Except nothing lasted forever—at least that’s what the actress told herself when she got like this, especially after that one moment where she let it slip to the other actor that no one had to know what they did and Barry froze, the pain and turmoil evident in his eyes as he whispered, “You deserve better than that.” She tried not to think about how willing she was to keep their relationship, whatever it was, a secret when she absolutely detested those if they could just be together like this always, or how much farther she just fell after hearing him say that, or how she didn’t care whether that was true or not as long as it was him.

Hell, they were lucky they weren’t already plastered on every gossip rag out there, with him staying in her room more than he ever did in his own, though a large part of that credit went to the discretion of their crew members. Iris never missed the look of disapproval Barry’s manager Cisco would give him when the other male caught them together, though she couldn’t figure out the sympathetic one he’d throw her way when their eyes met. Maybe she should get Caitlin to pry it out of him, manager to manager.

It was her stomach that broke her out of her reverie this time, cutting into the almost-silence with a protesting sound, but as she moved to lift Barry’s arm off of her to get up he tightened his hold and pulled her even closer towards him. Okay, she amends her previous statement—nothing but her trying to leave his side could wake up one Barry Allen.

“S’early,” he slurred, and Iris wasn’t sure if he was sleep-talking or not.

“Bear, it’s like 3PM. And my stomach is crying out for food.”

“Mm, I can make your mouth cry out for something else,” he murmured, a little more awake, and she bit down on her bottom lip as he moved to plant a kiss at the back of her neck.

“You’re incorrigible,” Iris teased, slapping his arm to cover how much she was enjoying it. “Besides, making love to a half-awake corpse is not exactly high on my to-do list.”

She could feel him smile against her skin—he always loved it when she said ‘making love’ and not ‘having sex’ or ‘screwing’ or ‘fucking’ or whatever other synonym there was for the act because he was a hopeless romantic like that and it technically was true as they did love each other, labels be damned. Iris then shivered when she felt something else brush up against her skin—only now did she notice how all of their clothes were thrown haphazardly around the room—and she allowed herself to be pulled onto her back as Barry settled himself between her legs, propping his hands on either side of her head.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m wide awake then.” He smiled dangerously then, slowly lowering his head towards her. “I’m going to make sure you _thoroughly_ earn that meal, Miss West.”

Her retort that she’s pretty sure she earned it when they first got into her room all those hours ago got swallowed up as Barry’s mouth latched onto hers, but as their bodies flushed together Iris found that she didn’t quite mind working up an appetite like this all the time.

* * *

“You are to live in this world, while I am meant to leave it.” Barry stepped toward Iris, his hands fidgeting as he fought with himself to keep from putting them around the woman in front of him and pulling her close, eventually turning them into fists as he bit the inside of his cheek. “You must have your own life from this moment forward.”

The shorter of the two shook her head, the lights around them shining in her eyes because of the tears that had gathered there. “That’s not why I want to do it! Let’s not live like scaredy-cats, afraid of the impending end we know is coming.” She swallowed hard then, and tried to fight off the coldness that was creeping into her veins and spreading around her body at how eerie it was that the lines they were speaking now could very well apply to their situation with just a slight change in context.

Barry must’ve been feeling it, too, if the unscripted flinch he just did was anything to go by, and she wondered if the shake of his head at her stubbornness (she wasn’t even sure if it was hers or her character’s anymore) was directed at the both of them as well. “Why do you insist on creating such painful memories?”

“Why do they have to be painful?” Brown and green eyes locked together, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she had another line but she missed her cue and by the time she opened her mouth the director shouted, “Cut!”, and it was just as well since nothing but a choked sob escaped her lips anyway. “I’m sorry, I just, I need a minute—”

Iris ran off camera, and the director threw his hands up in bewilderment as the other crew members exchanged worried glances. The cold air that hit her as she ran was refreshing, and even after two months she still doesn’t completely know her way around the city they’ve been filming in, so the actress stopped before she could get too lost, ducking into an empty alleyway. She raised an arm to rest against the bumpy cobblestone wall, burying her eyes into said arms as she tried to regulate her breathing. She hated being weak, especially in public, but even she couldn’t help the silent tears that were currently rolling down her cheeks.

Soon enough, Iris heard footsteps approaching, and she didn’t need to look to know that it was Barry—it would always be him—so she didn’t jump in shock when hands were placed on both her shoulders, sliding down them to rest at her forearms before his comforting weight leaned against her as he placed a kiss into her hair. The shorter of the two laughed at herself then, because she didn’t want to be _that girl_ , heartbroken over something she knew could only be a fling but wishing it was so much more. _How did things come so far?_ “Promise me something?” the actress requested, turning around to face him.

She felt more than saw Barry go still for a moment, and she watched him lift his hands to thumb away her tears before he finally answerd. “What is it?”

“Say you’ll remember me. Hopefully not as this hot mess in front of you, but I’ll take what I can get,” Iris managed to say with a small laugh.

The fellow actor returned it, and he shook his head in wonder at the request, continuing to cradle her face in his hands. “Iris, you’re _unforgettable_. You’re always gonna be with me, the good and the bad. And you act as if we’re never gonna see each other again. I mean, no matter what happens, at the very least, you’re my best friend, right?”

The smile that spread across her face stayed on more permanently this time. “Yeah. After everything, coming out with a best friend at the end doesn’t sound so bad.” She lifted a hand she made into a fist, and without missing a beat Barry had bumped his own fist against hers.

As he wrapped an arm around her and lead the way back to the area they were filming in, Iris looked up at him. “Y’know if you initiated that fist bump I would’ve never let you live it down.”

“Hey! White guys can have some swag, too!”

Her laughter echoed off the buildings around them.

* * *

“All right, guys! That’s a wrap!”

Cheers erupted on set, eventually joined by the popping of champagne corks. It had been two weeks since they’d arrive back in L.A. to complete the shooting of their movie. Not much had changed since their return—well, except for their nightly rendezvous at each other’s hotel rooms—but Iris had attributed that to them still being able to see a lot of each other at work.

But as she accepted a glass of the bubbly from one of the crew members and she locked eyes with Barry across the room, the actress couldn’t help but think that nothing was going to be the same again.

“Iris,” the tall male greeted when he had approached her, raising his glass. “Here’s to surviving the last three months with yours truly.”

“Here’s to several months more,” Iris replied, lifting her own glass, and they shared a smile before clinking their drinks together, taking a sip. It wasn’t long before they were swept away for a cast dinner with everyone else, to which they easily agreed to, and Iris couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend her night, amongst friends.

Maybe change didn’t have to be a bad thing.

* * *

As predicted, their jobs had indeed pulled them in different directions, but Barry had kept his promise about not forgetting her, often blowing up her phone or her Twitter or Instagram accounts with comments that she had readily returned, being the best friends that they were. Every time they managed to find some time to get together, though, Caitlin (or even Cisco on Barry’s side) would dump a new script on her lap, or book her a new guest appearance somewhere. Eventually, it happened so often that even keeping in touch like they had been became harder to do.

Iris had brought it up jokingly to her manager one day, that there was a conspiracy going on and that Caitlin was working with her agent to deliberately keep Barry and her apart. The taller woman had a deer in headlights look for a brief moment before sputtering, “I believe you pay me to keep you busy.”

The actress remembered laughing and putting a hand on brunette’s shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I pay you to keep me sane, too,” she had said, still in jest, and the two giggled before she let it drop because Caitlin had a point and she never really meant the accusation in the first place.

But now, on the night of premiere of the big blockbuster movie she had co-starred with Barry, Iris was beginning to think maybe she was on to something. Caitlin had not only uncharacteristically offered to go pick up her dress, but returned with it late, really cutting it close with the time. The actress was glad fashionably late was really a thing, because she was definitely going to be it.

“Cait, what is up with you lately? You’ve been sketchy ever since we came back from filming this thing,” Iris said loudly so that the other woman could hear her through the partially-closed door of the room she was changing in. “You know I can’t miss this premiere.”

“I know!” her manager responded quickly, and Iris could clearly imagine the rare pout that was gracing the other woman’s face. “I pride myself on not only being your manager, but your friend, Iris. There’s something I need to tell you. I talked to Cisco—”

“Oooo,” the actress sounded, intrigued, and she appeared from the room dressed and ready to go, only to plop down on the couch that her manager stood in front of. “Barry’s manager, right? How are things going with you two?”

Caitlin gave her a withered look. “This isn’t about me.”

“It should be!”

“ _Iris_ , it’s Barry. He’s—” the slightly older woman tried again, but this time was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Miss West, your ride is waiting for you downstairs,” the bellhop announced through the door, and Iris let out a dramatic sigh, rising to her feet.

“Okay, to be continued, for sure! Girls’ night later, all right? You can pencil that in,” she teased as she grabbed her clutch purse and headed out the door before Caitlin could get another word in.

Part of her was curious what Caitlin had to say about Barry, but Iris figured she could just pry it out of him when she saw him at the premiere—she was so excited about it that she couldn’t sit still in the backseat of her car. Whoever said absence made the heart grow fonder hit it right on the nose, and the actress had never been more excited to promote a movie because she’d finally get to spend some time with her best friend face to face.

…And, maybe, if things went as she hoped and planned, they’d officially be something more. Iris had been mulling over it for a while now and had decided she wanted to take the plunge that they had danced around the entire time. Come what may, it would be worth it, and they could get through it together.

Soon enough, the car pulled up to the venue. Even with the flashing lights of the cameras blinking through the tinted glass, her driver, ever the professional, turned to tell her that they arrived, and the actress gave him a knowing smile before shaking her head—she’s pretty sure she got into the habit of stating the obvious from him.

Iris was ready when the door opened for her and she stepped out smiling and waving at the crowd. Like gravity, her eyes and Barry’s found each other easily, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she lit up like a Christmas tree. For a moment, the actor had mirrored her expression, but as he lifted his right hand to wave at her another hand had grabbed onto it before it could go very far. In slow-motion, as if to highlight every detail, the actress noticed the rings on the joined hands that sparkled in the flash of the surrounding cameras, the tug on the appendage that forced Barry to turn away from her, how the other woman’s hair cascaded over her shoulder as she leaned over to plant a kiss on his lips.

As if she had been shot, Iris stopped abruptly, closing her eyes and bowing her head—as if it would erase what she had just seen or take away the anguish that exploded from her heart. Unfortunately, she wasn’t so lucky, and to make matters worse the woman moved her fingers so that they were now intertwined with Barry’s—she was afraid she was going to scream when her mouth involuntarily opened. But she kept it internalized, and with more grace than she could’ve ever thought she had in that moment she made her way over to the couple.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Allen,” the actress greeted without so much as a grimace, focusing her gaze on the blonde woman on Barry’s arm instead of the actor himself.

She could see Barry open his mouth but it was his plus one that beat him to it. “Oh, no, not yet. Patty Spivot, it’s a pleasure! I’ve heard so much about you, Miss West.”

‘Apparently not enough,’ was what was on the tip of her tongue, and ‘I’ve never heard about you’ circled through her head, but, “All good things, I hope,” came out instead. Unable to look at Patty for much longer, she looked down at her hands instead, but found that wasn’t much better. “I was wondering why there was a ring on his right hand.”

“Male engagement ring,” the fiancé supplied, squeezing his fingers. “Not too popular, I admit, but—”

“—Barry’s a hopeless romantic,” Iris finished for her in a whisper, finding the strength to finally look the man in the eye. She tried to smile, but it must’ve come out appearing painful because her co-star looked on the verge of tears.

“Iris—”

“Iris! Barry! Over here!” The photographers around them yelled at the same time Barry had tried to say something, and she took the out that she was given, turning to face the cameras.

_Just pretend_ , the actress told herself as she smiled for the endless photos. That was what she was paid to do, after all. She just didn’t think it’d bleed into her real life, too.

By the time the director and produced arrived to join them, it was time to go inside, but Iris’ relief in being in the dark, sitting away from the cause of her heartbreak, was short-lived as now she had to watch what was, how it stopped being acting to just being them as the movie went, and try not to think of what could have been.

Halfway through she was beginning to reach her limit, and as she tore her eyes away from the big screen she felt someone staring at her, and she followed the heat of the gaze to find Barry looking at her. Even in the dark she could see the regret in his eyes, and she didn’t dare to think about what it was exactly that he was feeling sorry for.

_I can’t pretend anymore._ Reaching her breaking point, Iris excused herself, pulling out her phone from her purse to call her driver. Without looking back, she all but ran outside of the theatre, thankful not only for the chill in the arm but the quick response of her staff as the car drove up just as she reached the street.

“Anywhere but the hotel,” she requested, shutting the door. She slid down in her seat and closed her eyes, and as tears streamed down her cheeks, Iris could almost imagine hearing Barry’s voice calling out her name as they drove away.

**Author's Note:**

> Fans of Rooftop Prince might recognize their 'lines' from episode 22.
> 
> Might make a sequel because I hate broken!Westallen and Barry's not a cheater (1x15 notwithstanding).


End file.
